Saturday we celebrated an important and visible piece of the New Bike Action Plan.

SMDP 3/26/12

Since we couldn’t let such a grand event go “un” celebrated we decided that an UNOFFICIAL GRAND OPENING / RIBBON CUTTING CEREMONY WAS IN ORDER!

We started the morning at the Santa Monica Bike Center, gathering on bikes we rode down Main Street to Edgemar to join a waiting crowd for the festivities. We had lots of bikes, balloons, cookies, muffins, coffee donated by Peet’s, speeches and a red ribbon to cut. The event was well attended by an enthusiastic crowd and the local press. We were happy to have Santa Monica City Mayor Richard Bloom officially help preside over our “Unofficial Ceremony” along with Planning Commissioner and co-organizing conspirator Richard McKinnon shown here with the traffic cone megaphone.
View our image gallery on flickr

“Bikes can mean big business, and businesses are beginning to realize it.”

Far and away, the biggest reason business owners resist the addition of bike infrastructure is that they’re afraid it will limit parking. Once they realize they can get 12 bike parking spaces for each car spot, sometimes they begin to change their tune. Even better, they begin to discover that cyclists can be their best customers. “We tend to shop closer to home and shop more often,” said April Economides, a consultant who helped the city of Long Beach, build bicycle-friendly business districts.quote from DC Streetsblog article, National Bike Summit

These bike corrals represent a wonderful collaboration between the community, the city and local business to provide more secure bike parking at key locations here on Main Street.

Click image to view our gallery on flikcr

“We at Santa Monica Spoke have strongly advocated the importance of abundant, convenient and safe parking for bicycles. Good bike parking is an essential feature of a bikeable urban landscape and a crucial component in encouraging and enabling people to ride. It’s an important and valuable investment for cities to make.” Cynthia Rose said to the crowd.

click for video

A typical bike corral uses one car parking space and can accommodate 10 to 14 bikes. In a space one car would park, a bike corral can provide parking for 14 or more customers to patronize local business. The corrals we celebrated Saturday are unique in that they were installed without removing any car parking but instead are utilizing previously red buffer zones that have now been repurposed to provide secure parking for an additional 36 bikes on Main Street.

Parking for an additional 36 bikes without adding congestion to sidewalks or removing any car parking. These corrals will provide parking for visitors who can now enjoy restaurants and shopping, while actively experiencing and connecting with local businesses.